Snow skiing is one of the fastest growing participation sports in the world as more and more skiing facilities have been constructed. Like waterskiing which started with skiers using a ski on each foot as pulled by means of a rope behind a power boat that evolved into the typical water skier using a single ski or "slalom" ski, in recent years the use of a single ski for snow skiing has also grown in popularity. A single ski for use on snow is commonly known as a "snowboard". Present snowboards bear little resemblance to a typical ski in that they are shorter, wider and of different contour. A good snowboard is designed to incorporate a flat bottom surface, rounded front and tail ends with square, sharp edges extending from the front to the tail. The smoothness and condition of the bottom surface and the sharpness of the side edges are critical in obtaining superior performance by a skilled user of a snowboard. Skilled snowboard users frequently have more than one snowboard, that is, a longer model for mountain skiing and a shorter model for the popular snowboard parks where more acrobatic skills are employed.
Because of the criticality of maintaining a smooth bottom surface and sharp edges on the sides of the snowboard, they are susceptible to damage. Particularly, the critical cutting edges of the sides are easily damaged when a snowboard is transported from one place to another, such as in a trunk of an automobile.
An object of the present invention is to provide a protective cover for a snowboard to protect the board both in transit and storage, and particularly, to protect the smooth bottom surface and the edges of the sides. Further, an important aspect of the invention is the provision of a protective cover having means to adjust to properly fit and envelope the entire base, edges, and sidewalls of various length snowboards.
Others have provided protective covers for various board types of sporting equipment. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,912 entitled "Ski Protector" that issued on Feb. 8, 1977 provides a one-piece ski protector of material that can be stretched sufficiently so as to enable the skier to fit one end of the protector over the toe end of the ski and the other end over the heel end, the resiliency or elasticity permitting use of the device on various sizes of skis. While the ski protector disclosed in this patent teaches the basic concept of a device having elastic qualities to stretch over the opposed ends of a ski it does not provide components to protect the bottom surface of a snowboard nor does it provide sufficient protection for the side edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,050 also entitled "Ski Protector" includes a ski-shaped rubber boot that stretches over the ends, longitudinal edges and bottom of a ski but, as has been stated with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,912, the structure in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,050 does not provide adequate protection for the bottom surface of a snowboard nor sufficient padding for protection of the cutting edges along the snowboard sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,952 entitled "Surfboard Horizontal Control Surface Protection Method and Apparatus" that issued on Jan. 19, 1988 shows an apparatus for protecting a surfboard but in which only the edges of the surfboard are protected from the forward to the rearward end and along both sides but wherein the bottom surface remains unprotected. Applying the principles of this invention to a snowboard would not afford to a user necessary protection of the critical bottom surface. Further, this patent shows a device having relatively thin material along the side edges and in general does not provide the protection required for a snowboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,506 entitled "Skateboard Carrier" that issued on Mar. 3, 1992 provides a carrier specifically for a skateboard of the type that has wheels and includes individual right wing and left wing portions with a plurality of inflation chambers and including the use of straps having Velcro attachments. This patent is primarily concerned with a way to encompass a skateboard to facilitate carrying the skateboard and is not specifically concerned with protection of a skateboard bottom surface, since such surface has wheels mounted thereon, nor the side edges since the integrity of the side edges of a skateboard are not relevant to the use of the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,550 entitled "Protective Cover For Snowboard or The Like" issued Nov. 17, 1992 illustrates a protective cover having an elastic elongated panel having an elastic cord around its outer peripheral edge that is stretched in order to permit the insertion of a snowboard so that the bottom of the snowboard is covered by the panel and the elastic cord engages the top surface of the panel with reinforcing layers provided along the surrounding edges of the panel to overlap the edges of the snowboard. This device provides for protection of the edges of the snowboard but relies primarily upon Velcro-type straps to hold it in position and does not provide for adequate protection of the board bottom. Particularly, the device as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,550 does not show a snowboard cover that provides secure protection for the bottom surface but is nevertheless expandable so that the cover can accept a variety of lengths of snowboards.
These previously issued United States patents are representative of the state of the art to which the present invention is directed and illustrate that, while others have demonstrated an appreciation of the need to protect boards used in sporting activities, none have provided protection for all the critical areas required for a snowboard.
A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description of the preferred embodiments and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.